Let me pull out my digital chalkboard to explain: Glenn Beck recently showed images of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson rendered in an artistic style reminiscent of…
…the Obama/Hope poster…
…which was created by Shepard Fairey…
…who was influenced, artistically, by Constructivism…
…a movement that was born in Russia, just after the Revolution…
…which was led by Lenin, who once reportedly said, “a lie told often enough becomes the truth” — which makes Glenn Beck a…
…a card-carrying big-C Commie.
There you have it, folks. Now everybody run around like chickens with your heads cut off.
Image credits, top to bottom: Screengrab by C-M, Thomas Hawk, Strifu, Alki1, LLlyxep, Délirante bestiole, John McNab.
At the Harvard Graduate School of Design. (Photo by Hargo.)
Peter Schjeldahl reviews Shepard Fairey’s solo at the ICA in this week’s New Yorker, describing it as “strangely wholesome.” Read the full review here.
Robert De Niro is waiting… (Photo by C-Mon.)
Engorged with lots of holiday cheer (and too many empanadas), Celso and I decided to watch Michael Cimino’s 1978 Vietnam drama, The Deer Hunter. If you haven’t had a chance to see the picture, here’s what you need to know: it’s got lots of bleak footage of Pennsylvania mills, one loooong-ass wedding scene, oodles of Vietnamese jungle shots and more Russian roulette than a freaked-out Christopher Walken can handle.
My favorite visual comes towards the end of the movie. It’s a simple shot of Robert De Niro arriving at a veteran’s hospital, to visit a buddy who was maimed in the war. The moment is rather unremarkable. What got my attention, however, were the luscious colors of that ’70s wallpaper in the hallway, a saturated rainbow sherbet of hues such as tangerine and papaya. It’s as if De Niro (in full-blown intensity-mode) is emerging from a tropical womb. All I’d like to know is: Who was the set decorator for this? And can someone please give him a job decorating real hospitals? I’ve had it with all the beige.
Buy this and save $99,000,075 million
Want to “give your home an edgy look with some serious pizzazz?” Well, look no further. Because “lifestyle retailer” Z Gallerie has just the home design trinket for you: a bling-a-rrific metallic skull that bears an uncanny resemblance to Damien Hirst’s diamond-encrusted sculpture, For the Love of God — only this version is almost $100 million cheaper. The best part: gift wrap is only $4.25 (shipping not included). Which means that you can purchase this fine piece of home design for yourself and more than a hundred of your closest friends — and still not come close to reaching the original’s price tag (which is almost seven times the GDP of Tuvalu). Act now. Or until Lladro comes out with a $19.95 version of Jeff Koons’ Michael Jackson and Bubbles.
(Many thanks to Ryan Frank for the link.)
Update & Correction: Paddy Johnson over at AFC rightly points out that Hirst’s skull is now valued at £150 million (or about $263 million) — roughly the GDP of Micronesia.
Further Update: See what a pal of mine and I made with this fine piece of home décor merch.
(Photos by C-M. Click on images to supersize.)
Found this over the weekend: the Stephen Colbert desk calendar. Nothing wrong with the calendar. But what tech-happy incompetent mangled Colbert’s fingers, at left? Or was Colbert in some industrial accident that I don’t know anything about?
See a close-up here:
Spooky.
See additional Photoshop nightmares at Photoshop Disasters.
Posted by C-Monster.
One more turquoise throw pillow and I think we’ve got it: Bedroom decor as featured in Seventeen, Oct. 1967. See the full set of retro decor pics. This one looks like a Jim Lambie installation. (Image courtesy of sugarpie honeybunch.)
- Because the art industry needs less cock and more vagina. (For propriety’s sake, I won’t reveal who sent this to me.)
- The $155,000 book.
- A profile of Nan Goldin. (Via A.O.)
- I’m with Tyler on this one: What the hell is “black art”?
- Showing art in shipping containers: hot, hot, hot. (Via A.J.)
- Audio Slideshow: Photos from RFK’s funeral train by Paul Fusco (via AFC). A story about the 40th anniversary of his death here.
- The Week does a nice analysis of the sagging market. Interesting point: Everyone might wanna stop ragging on all those Russian, Asian and Middle Eastern nouveau riches ‘cuz they’re the ones who may be keeping everything afloat. (Via AFC.)
- Christie’s and Sotheby’s raise buyer’s premiums.
- I’m sure this won’t be rife with conflict-of-interest: Charles Saatchi to advise fine art hedge fund.
- LACMA keeping armed guards next to Damien Hirst formaldehyde piece. ‘Cuz if some vandal busted the glass, it’d turn the museum into a superfund site.
- Creepy photo essay: Michael Jackson’s Neverland Ranch. (Thanks, Alex!)
- It’s come to this: a design-conscious sheep stable.
- Chicago landmark commission is as useful as tits on a bull: They have allowed corporate sponsor Chicago Board Options Exchange to maintain their bright yellow acronym on the landmarked walls of Wrigley Field.
- Frank Gehry skyscraper rises in downtown Manhattan.
- From the Department of Tell-Yourself-Whatever-You-Need-To: Rem Koolhaas says that by working in China, he isn’t supporting a corrupt, authoritarian regime, he’s helping “support a more modern China.”
- Graff of the Day: Thoup in England.
- The Day in WTF?: The Philosophy of Obey.
- Designer gas masks.
- Your moment of the worst album covers ever. (Via VSL.)
Posted by C-Monster.
Johnie’s Coffee Shop in L.A., with Obey Giant poster. Photo by S:U:P:E:R:M:O:D.
This morning I linked to a story on Animal New York regarding a cease and desist letter that Shepard Fairey’s studio had reportedly sent to a Texas artist that allegedly infringed on his trademark Obey Giant image. A comment on the blog (and plenty of whispering on the Internet) have intimated that the story of a cease and desist letter is untrue. That is not the case. Fairey did send a letter to the artist in question. This is the statement he just released on the subject:
To all concerned:
Baxter Orr was sent a cease and desist letter by Obey Giant in regards to his use of the Obey “Icon Face” graphic. This graphic is a registered trademark and I selectively enforce this trademark based on the nature of the infringement. Frequently I do not respond negatively to parodies of Obey because I feel the artist doing the parody is philosophically aligned with Obey and parody is a valid part of pop culture dialog. I use parody and tribute often in my own work, so I obviously believe there is value to both. I have also had to deal with legal entanglements over the use of appropriated imagery and its interpretation as parody or infringement. Parody Vs. infringement is obviously an issue with many subtleties and grey areas. Referencing existing imagery is a risk every pop artist takes from Warhol to Koons to myself to Mr. Orr. Most of my pop art, fortunately, has been positively received by those being referenced, and many subjects have even commissioned authorized collaborations after seeing my tribute. Orr’s infringement is being pursued more because of his all around exploitative tendencies and foul nature rather than the seriousness of this specific infringement. I’m generally very tolerant of this sort of thing, but this is the straw that broke the camel’s back. Orr has been repeatedly revealed for selling Obey Giant prints on ebay which I have a policy against. I sell my prints under market value to insure that true fans of my work can acquire a print at a reasonable price. Orr has used pseudonyms and other shady tactics to get prints and sell them on ebay. Orr has been kicked off of an Obey Giant fan site for shady dealings. He has also made enemies with an Obey secondary market dealer for being untrustworthy. Orr is the type of bottom feeder who is often able to thrive because no one wants to take the time to deal with him. As you can see, he has tried to turn this present issue into publicity for himself. The resources it may require for me to pursue him will be much greater than any lost revenue from his print. I’m pursuing this out of principal. I have principals and Orr does not. A gross over-simplification of the situation could lead a lazy person to think that I’m a hypocrite for pursuing Orr because, in basic terms, we both use reinterpreted appropriated imagery. The key difference is in our motivations and my willingness to take responsibility for the things I do.
Shepard Fairey
Founder & Creative
Studio Number One
Posted by C-Monster.
Industrial designer Raymond Loewy on the S1 steam locomotive. Image courtesy of Wikimedia.
Posted by C-Monster.
